Overview

• An LAPD commander said thieves keep stripping copper wiring, leaving the bridge unlit and covered in graffiti.
• Police increased patrols and requested cleanups after the latest incidents on the span connecting downtown and Boyle Heights.
• Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said crews cleared graffiti from six arches and added the site to a weekly cleanup route with help from community groups.
• ABC7 reported roughly seven miles of wiring have been taken, and former councilmember Kevin de León urged tougher measures to deter repeat thefts.
• City leaders previously touted a Heavy Metal Task Force with nearly 100 arrests and 2,000 pounds of seized copper, yet vandalism and theft persist.